diff --git a/lib/runner.js b/lib/runner.js
index 7cdaaa702..758bcfbe4 100644
--- a/lib/runner.js
+++ b/lib/runner.js
@@ -181,12 +181,15 @@ var runJasmineTests = function() {
   for (var i = 0; i < specs.length; ++i) {
     var matches = glob.sync(specs[i], {cwd: config.specFileBase});
     if (!matches.length) {
-      throw new Error('Test file ' + specs[i] + ' did not match any files.');
+      util.puts('Warning: pattern ' + specs[i] + ' did not match any files.');
     }
     for (var j = 0; j < matches.length; ++j) {
       resolvedSpecs.push(path.resolve(config.specFileBase, matches[j]));
     }
   }
+  if (!resolvedSpecs.length) {
+    throw new Error('Spec patterns did not match any files.');
+  }
 
   minijn.addSpecs(resolvedSpecs);
   // TODO: This should not be tied to the webdriver promise loop, it should use